


Where is the cheese exactly?

by Giulietta



Series: Mari-nyan [37]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste Is Sunshine, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Is Not an Idiot, Anger, Awesome Master Fu (Miraculous Ladybug), Awkwardness, Cheese, Confusion, Doubt, Episode: s02 Le Collectionneur | The Collector, Friendship/Love, Gen, Hawk Moth is Gabriel Agreste, Heist, Identity Issues, Illusions, Kwami Swap, Late Night Conversations, Master Fu Ships It (Miraculous Ladybug), Oblivious Marinette Dupain-Cheng, POV Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, POV Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Panic, Partnership, Plagg Being Plagg (Miraculous Ladybug), Responsibility, Secret Identity, Supportive Plagg (Miraculous Ladybug), Trust
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 18:53:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25950157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Giulietta/pseuds/Giulietta
Summary: The Guardian finds her and gives a not-so-easy mission: trespass the Agreste compound and steal the cheese in Adrien Agreste's room.Identities are at stake. The Heist is on!(The day Marinette did not plan things through.)(The day Master Fu protects the ship.)(The day Gabriel feels gravely threatened by Hello Kitty.)
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth & Nathalie Sancoeur, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Master Fu, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Master Fu, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Plagg, Master Fu & Wayzz (Miraculous Ladybug)
Series: Mari-nyan [37]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1745011
Comments: 9
Kudos: 71





	1. The Plan

**Author's Note:**

> Bugaboo! I confused some episodes with each other. Sorry. Forgive meeee~! T_T
> 
> Moving on, Marinette of this universe would (hands down) help Misterbug before Adrien (even if she has a huge crush on Adrien). XD
> 
> Because Marinette here hangs around with Plagg a lot, she's more trusting and ready for action.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Plagg are chaotic duo.

After Chloé cries on the sudden and very likely to be permanent absence of Adrien, Marinette went out to curse her luck for thinking Misterbug would return the book to Adrien. Her partner says it's important to learning who Hawkmoth is and she trusts him so of course she's going to give it to him... What she didn't think was the fact her idol would be so devastated to ground his son for life! ****

...

"This is bad..." Plagg muttered and Marinette looked at her kwami. The black cat coughed, "You know? Because ducklord owns and now wants the book Tikki needs?"

"Right. The book is about miraculouses..." Marinette crossed her arms as Plagg hid in her jacket. She walked out of the school, forced by the class to find some way to get Adrien back to school. Chloé was the most vehement, threatening to ruin her life because Lila isn't here. _Marinette technically told the truth about Lila tossing it in the trashcan.._ ****

"Wait!" Marinette paused, the truth finally settling in. "An eccentric artist who never leaves his home. Mysterious, very intelligent, but cold, even with his own son."

"Sounds like a villain, am I right?" Plagg snickered and Marinette agreed wholeheartedly.

"But that also means I've been idolizing a supervillain." Marinette squinted. "But what if Nathalie is Hawkbutt or Adrien... Or the Gorille?!"

"Ok. Hawkmoth isn't dumb enough to akumatize himself-?!" Plagg hid in her inner pocket at the incoming entity.

"?!" Marinette was about to walk across the road when she got tugged by an old man.

"Lady Noire." The man spoke and Marinette had a number of thoughts pop into her head to go against him. One, she can deny and eventually fail at lying. Two, pretend the old man is sick to drag him out of the sidewalk to threaten him. Three, scream for the police because this guy actually has a strong grip

"I am the guardian of the miraculous. Misterbug needs your help." The old man caught her attention with **Misterbug**. Plagg did say a Guardian exist, the same person who chose her and bug. He wouldn't leave the country after doing the transfer right? _She'd punch him if he did._

"Come. We must discuss this in full detail." The small old man dragged her to a shop. **He does look familiar!** The man who she had to help cross the street. "Misterbug notified and given me the grimoire for study. I've recently finished picturing its contents so you may return this to its proper owner."

"The owner..." Marinette was about to question this man's authenticity, but this old man has the book she gave Misterbug. _This guy must be the Guardian for real! Misterbug would never lose something she gave him. He's not that type of person._

*click.

"Yes. The owner.." The Guardian shared her grim sentiment. The possibility of a rich exclusive man being Hawkmoth. _Not far-fetched if they both thought about it._

"What do I have to do?" Marinette isn't sure what her partner needs from her, but she's game if it will narrow down the suspects to Hawkmoth's civilian identity.

"You will need to trespass the Agreste Mansion and steal the cheese in Adrien Agreste's room." The old man lets go of her hand, walking towards the main room. Marinette stared at the old man wearing a Hawaiian T-shirt.

"Say what now?" Marinette squinted at the old man. "The cheese? Adrien hates cheese, especially the stinky ones!"

"Maybe he meant we're sharkbait, brie." Plagg popped out, scanning the parlor area.

"Ah.. But why would he say cheese then? We could cause chaos and leave the area as is." Marinette knew her time has come as the perfect distraction unit. _It is in her blood and Misterbug won't tell her otherwise!_ The Guardian isn't speaking, staring at the book then at a neat antique music box.

"Everyone's got a reason to do something." Plagg shrugged. "And the media did start that prank meme of you being a cheese thief."

"Fair. Fair..." Marinette sighed, hating those tabloids.

"We must test whether or not Gabriel Agreste is indeed Hawkmoth." The old man explained. "Once you take the cheese, you are to examine the area. ("AHA! So there is cheese in his room!" Marinette gasped because Misterbug is friends with Adrien. Ergo, Misterbug told the Guardian what's inside Adrien's room. ~~Master Fu is struggling to not laugh.~~ ) H-hawkmoth surely has a secret underground lair to hide all the akumas."

"Do not worry." The old man coughed. "I have removed the son and the bodyguard as possible suspects."

"Hm... But really? I have to steal cheese in A-adrien's room?" Marinette scratched her cheek in one side. _She gets the need to distract the residents for her partner to examine the room- Maybe the old man will join and old people are very slow._ Marinette shook her head. "No need to explain. We don't have much time left before sunset. I accept the task."

"Good. Now head back to your house. I'm sure you know what to do." The Guardian nodded and Marinette bowed before leaving the room.

"What's the plan?" Plagg hid back to her jacket, peering up at his determined chosen.

"You remember last month's crash-and-burn fan?" Marinette grinned, fondly listening to Adrien talking about the worst night of his life. A fan riding a motorcycle crashed through the gates and kept riding all the way into the house. Had Adrien not fallen asleep on the second floor to his bedroom (the library and DVD section), the fan would've kidnapped him.

"You wouldn't." Plagg laughed.

"Oh I will." Marinette's eyes sparkled at the next impossible and amazing plan yet. _A risky move, but a diversion nevertheless!_ For this to work, Marinette will need a disguise underneath her superhero attire. She isn't really bulky enough to destroy the newly fortified gates but her cataclysm will do just the trick!

* * *

*Click*

"Master. Are you sure of this?" Wayzz asked as he watched the guardian wear the fox miraculous.

"Whether or not Gabriel is Hawkmoth, the man has read the _Miraculous Grimoire_. I suspect he's close to finding Adrien's identity." Wang Fu confessed, taking deep breaths. "I must not let this happen at all cost!"

" **Trixx! Let's pounce!** "


	2. In Action

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Plagg never got the joke.
> 
> (Adrien is the cheese.) XD

As soon as Gabriel Agreste learned his son lost the book about the miraculouses, he knew it would somehow coincidentally reach the arms of Misterbug. The Ladybug miraculous bestows creation and luck powers. Misterbug is the epitome of good luck and when a book is misplaced, the hero will find it. There's also the fact the ladybug-themed hero keeps a watchful eye on a specific public school compared to the rest of the educational facilities. _Why else does Misterbug arrive quickly compared to the rest of his akumatized villains?_ That must be the reason!

_Gabriel throws a picture of his son off the wall._

Lady Noire, on the other hand, is a menace. The black cat is quick at her feet, but thankfully mature to cooperate with the police to lessen the damage of his emotional powered-up henchmen.

_Gabriel then throws another. Sometimes, he hesitates but he must! ~~The cure will fix this~~.._

His identity is compromised. He must remedy this. Gabriel will not jeopardize his family, his brand, his allies, his everything all because of his son's curiosity. It's not Adrien's faul-No. Wrong thinking! He has to be angry at his son! He needs to increase his displeasure for his plan to work. He needs to blame someone who is his son, even if- Gabriel tossed another mannequin, eye muscle twitching when the doll breaks into two. _Weak._ Gabriel scans the room, pleased to see the destruction. Did he say pleased? He meant disgruntled. The fashion designer was encoding the password when Nathalie showed him a clip.

_"Sir. Lady Noire is entering the compound."_ Nathalie notes and Gabriel felt more than dread when he watched the black cat utilized cataclysm to destroy the newly placed door. It's just like the crazed fan that disrupted his sleep a month ago! That insolent brat-

"I don't have much time left." Gabriel muttered, pulling back in shock and respect. Lady Noire prepared for this very moment, getting de-transformed in her bike - only to be wearing a Hello Kitty Cosplay! How the female/male can see (much less stabilize that humongous head) is unknown to him, but he knows his prediction is correct.

"They're onto me." Gabriel quickly head down stairs, reaching his lair to transform. 'I don't have much time left!'

" **Nooroo! Dark wings rise!** "

* * *

"Ah kwami! Now what?" Marinette jumped out of the bike after the bumpy ride, destroying the hallway (one will need to jump) to enter Adrien's room. She locked the door, itching to remove this HELLO KITTY head to see something. All she relied on was Plagg's commands and her instincts. Her kwami must be somewhere.

So far, her plan is working. Transforming twice to: first disrupt the electronic security system and the other time to destroy the metal doors erected to block her, Marinette left the guards to deal with the glitching doors and lights as well as the blaring alarms within the house. The cameras all broke from the sudden burst of energy, cracking into pieces like the metal door. _Marinette thought the rusting will happen like last time, but Plagg says the power matches her current emotion. Neat?_

"Coast is clear, kitty." Plagg joked and Marinette rolled her eyes before tugging her costume's head off for fresh air.

*Thud!

"Gah!" Marinette breathed in the scent of cookies(?), holding the Hello Kitty head with one hand as she scanned her classmate's room. She has at least 10 minutes to search for the cheese and then meet up with her partner... Maybe? Huh. Marinette realized something: One, Adrien sneaked out of his room through the window; two, there is a fancy piano in front of her with a CD player playing a piece; three, she can hear Gabriel laughing outside and sounding really deranged.

"Plagg. We have a problem!" Marinette gasped, quickly walking around for the cheese and get out ASAP. She was so excited and determined to help her partner and the guardian that she didn't realize who she'll need to talk to after causing a fiasco in the mansion. Although the Guardian reassured Adrien isn't Hawkmoth and deemed Gabriel a suspect, why then is Marinette hearing an akumatized Gabriel outside and Adrien nowhere to be found?! Also, what is up with the piano?! Is this a trap? Marinette panicked even further. "Does Adrien know I'm Lady Noire?!"

"Calm down, pigtails. We got a message from bug." Plagg returned to her side.

"But what about the cheese?" Marinette asked, worried for her famished(?) kwami. "I ran out of cheese after the second attempt and-"

"I'll live. Come on. Let's transform." Plagg reassured and they heard the man's voice coming closer. "Hurry!"

"Plagg, claws out!" Marinette shouted, transforming back to Lady Noire... Holding the HELLO KITTY HEAD?! Lady Noire hissed at herself, wanting to hit herself for her recklessness when she finally heard her ex-idol's voice. She grabbed Adrien's blanket, covering the HELLO KITTY head and leaped out of the room through the open window.

"Adrien!" The door opened just in time for the Collector to see Lady Noire cradling blanket-covered item with her.

" **Hello kitty!** " Collector growled, running to the window to see the heroine gone.


	3. Tricks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Master Fu and Adrien talked about this.

When Adrien talked with Master Fu, he didn't like the idea of keeping his partner in the dark.

Adrien knew Master Fu had a point regarding the Miraculous Grimoire. His father's possession of such artifact may lead to his father's realization towards his superhero identity: Misterbug. Even if Gabriel is found to not be Hawkmoth, they still need to do something to lead the fashion mogul astray. His family's safety is at risk. Hence, this extremely chaotic mission given to Lady Noire.

A mission both he and Master Fu knows will be unsuccessful because there is no cheese in his bedroom. This is all according to the plan which is the reason of his current simmering remorse.

...

"Here I am!" Lady Noire landed on her two feet, almost slipping off the Collège Françoise Dupont rooftop. Misterbug reached forward and held her arm to keep her stable. _She's carrying something in her arms. It's pretty big-is that his blanket?_ Lady apologized, carrying her stuff bridal style. "Sorry. Got stuff to hide hehe..."

"It's all right, m'lady... Follow me." Misterbug smiled, but he scanned the area, frowning. He jumped down, opening a window and holding his hands out. "Toss it down."

"Be careful okay?!" Lady Noire dropped the head and he almost had the item bounce down. It's bigger than he imagined. Misterbug entered the classroom with the illusion copy created by Master Fu. Master Fu is here somewhere, but that's not important at the moment. Right now, they need to check his house. To be more specific, the forbidden zones. Carrying a... Hello Kitty Cosplay head, Misterbug seized it in his arms. 'It's bigger than my head!'

*Thud!

"So I couldn't find the chee-Adrien?!" Lady Noire squeaked and Misterbug dropped the blanket to grab Lady Noire. She almost fell off the window at the sheer sight of him no. His civilian form. _That doesn't bode well for him._

"Is something wrong, Lady Noire?" _Adrien_ asked. Misterbug should give credit to Master Fu's illusion. That's the same reaction he'd go for if the love of his-err his partner shows signs of dislike.

"I-I thought you're grounded and you-how did you get here?" Lady Noire looked at the illusion then at Misterbug and back. "Wait! Is Adrien the cheese?"

"Excuse me?" Misterbug asked, slightly offended he's dubbed cheese.

"His hair is yellow like cheese-not like your hair is uhh okay. It's pretty cheesy not that I wanted to insult any of you or anything but.." Lady Noire is glancing at both confused/offended blondes. Her braid curls to her leg as she stared down and tapped her fingers in front of her. "I didn't find any cheese in Adrien's room and Plagg is starving. I'm sorry I'll stop speaking now."

'How is she so cute?' Misterbug covered his mouth with one hand, staring at the cat ears drooped down and her partner shrinking to make herself smaller. He heard his illusion self laugh and Misterbug swears he'll need to talk to Master Fu later.

"Don't worry, Noire. I got him out ahead of time." Misterbug comforted his embarrassed partner, "He'll be safe here hiding in this school until we learn the truth. (He looks at the uneasy illusion) I hope you don't mind, A-Adrien?"

"Yeah.." _Adrien_ nodded and Misterbug quickly glanced back to see Lady Noire walking with the blanket.

"I'm sorry but this is yours." Lady Noire held out the blanket and Misterbug panicked because he cannot let her touch the illusion _or else_. "I took it from your bedroom to carry my head easier-"

"Wait!" Misterbug held her braid, causing her to drop the Hello Kitty and blanket. She quickly looked at him and Misterbug continued in haste. "We don't have much time! The Guardian told us that Hawkmoth is already making a plan to derail our search."

"We need to go now!" Misterbug insisted, taking her by the hand and leading her outside the classroom.

"But my head." Lady Noire glanced back to see the illusion knelt down to stare at the head. She blushed, realizing Adrien (her fan) now knows she likes Hello Kitty. "Nevermind! He can have it! It's not like I grabbed it in the attic or something!"

"And don't recycle your disguises. I don't want the police chasing anyone cosplaying as Hello Kitty." Misterbug joked, closing the door behind them so Master Fu can fix the place up. _He will remember this new tidbit of Lady Noire._ Misterbug walked, ducking to hide from plain sight. "Now let's go back to continue the search."

"For the cheese?" Lady Noire wondered and Misterbug laughed at her. She huffed. "But! What else can there be in the mansion? Adrien's father got akumatized and the place is a mess."

"Father-?! The father was akumatized?" Misterbug whispered, hiding from plain sight. He knew the akumatized villain to be called **The Collector** but he never thought it would be his father. 'Does that mean he isn't Hawkmoth? But then he has the miraculous grimoire so he must be tied to a miraculous of sorts right?'

"Yes..." Lady Noire tugged the pondering hero to another route, leading to the gym for an alternate exit. They opened the doors, thankful no one is in school during akuma attacks. "He was screaming Hello Kitty. Do you think he'll remember that hatred like Alya to Damocles?"

"Pfft. That would be funny." Misterbug confessed and Lady Noire walked beside him. He turned to face her, still hiding behind the door. "Gone?"

"Not for long." Lady Noire flicked her hair, tugging him out into the open. She lets go of his hand, hands on her hips. "On your lead?"

"Ladies first." Misterbug bowed and Lady Noire giggled.

"Flirt." Lady Noire blows him an airy kiss and he feigns a swoon. She laughs one more time before grabbing her baton strapped behind her back. "Ok. Now we can be serious... (She cheered as she extended her baton) Race you!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lady Noire is chill. Chillllll


	4. The Cheese?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien in this universe isn't that dumb, just doubtful.
> 
> Marinette's attention span is cat.

The two heroes barely had time to scan the atelier before they heard the door smashed open. Lady Noire readied for battle while Misterbug looked away from the desktop. So far, Misterbug told her there's a secret code to accessing a blueprint for the house. _How bourgeois of the Agreste._

"If Gabriel Agreste is the Collector... Then where is Hawk Moth?" Misterbug asked as Lady Noire placed another arcade at the door. "Does that rule him out to being Hawkmoth or is this all a... plot?"

"When someone gets akumatized, their feelings are enhanced tenfold." Lady Noire told her findings, avoiding the topic. _Misterbug must be best friends with Adrien to be this hesitant._ She can't let herself fall for such emotions. She needs to balance him out. Lady Noire walked towards Misterbug. "The stronger the emotion, the more powerful the akumatization will become. Hawkmoth thrives in emotion so an akumatized person only needs Hawkmoth to begin or end the process."

"What about in between?" Misterbug mulled over the idea. They don't know a lot about Hawkmoth's miraculous except it creates villains. He'll need to talk to the Guardian for more detail.

"A friend of mine told me that **every power has it's checks and balances**. With the rampant and erratic akumatization for the past months, Hawkmoth will most likely be watching in his lair to control his akuma. If he can give people powers then he must surely have the ability to dispel it before they go against him right?" Lady Noire slowly looked back at the room, finally noticing a very inconspicuous fridge. Her mind shifts focus like a cat, asking. "WAIT! Is that where the cheese lies?"

"M'lady. For the last time, there is no cheese-?!" Misterbug couldn't finish his sentence when Lady Noire jumped up in a nick of time before the Collector's notebook touched her face. He ran behind the TV while the akumatized fashion designer glared up at the black cat.

"How many pages can you handle, bookworm?" Lady Noire taunted and the Collector glared at her. Misterbug got an idea as Lady Noire tossed a traffic cone down at the irritated man. Lady Noire warned. "Not a lot huh?! Now tell me where you hid the cheese!"

"There is no cheese, you child-napping cartoon cat cosplayer!" The Collector growled. Misterbug finally got an idea.

"M'lady! Let's finish his collection!" Misterbug cried out and both individuals looked at his direction. 'Should've seen that coming.'


	5. The Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is no cheese.

Marinette knew she'd get suspected by her classmates as soon as the viral video got posted online. The best lie she made was that she asked for Lady Noire's assistance. _Not wrong since she did need Plagg's help to get into Adrien's room._ This was further helped in evidence when the Guardian(?) managed to create an illusion of her searching the library. _Ergo, the staff supported her alibi._

Now the posted video followed by her information hyped everyone (especially Alya) to the max. Thankfully, Lila didn't use Lady Noire as part of her lies or it would be weird how Marinette doesn't know Lila as being 'friends' with the feline. Her hero identity is very secretive but easy to decipher. Alya, Nadja and Adrien didn't need to use a lot of brain cells to realize the nicknames or repetitive details Lady Noire gave each one of them, blogger, reporter and model respectively.

Fortunately, with the help of Adrien, the class promised to keep Marinette's connection to the heroine a secret. _No one wants Marinette to get anymore unlucky as is._ Unfortunately, Chloé came late and no one wants to tell her anything. Unfortunate because Chloé doesn't know the false hardship Marinette had to do to get Lady Noire's attention and to act like a fan girl in returning the grimoire to the fashion designer. _The Guardian told her to._

_There is one mystery still lingering in the depths of her mind.._

"What was the Guardian thinking, using you to return the book? Now the secretary is onto you." Plagg commented as Marinette walked back home.

"Well. It's better me than bug. Also, male judgement softens at the face of a female." Marinette held on one strap of her bag which also contained the very huge Hello Kitty head that the Guardian managed to squeeze into her locker. _Very suspicious indeed._ "At least Adrien is back in school."

"Yeah..." Plagg huffed. "We still haven't found the cheese."

"That's what I've been thinking." Marinette muttered under her breath, glancing across the street. "Maybe I should visit the place one more time?"

"And if we still can't find it. Let's both agree the Guardian trolled us." Plagg snickered.

"I never thought I'd see the day an old man trolled me." Marinette smiled. 'At least he's accepting to change unlike Grandpa.'

...

* * *

...

_Later that night.._

*thunk.

"L-lady?" Adrien rubbed his eyes, blearily staring at the intruder searching his room. He sat up, pulling his blanket off his body. "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

"..." Lady Noire opened the mini-fridge. The black cat stared at the pastries he bought in various pastry shops. Adrien watched the female close the fridge, disappointed with her braid going still. _Wait a minute._

"No..." Adrien slapped one hand on his face, realizing the issue. "Please tell me you aren't here for..."

"Where did you hide the cheese?" Lady Noire asked, darting fast to rest one foot on his bed to look down at him. Her eyes are narrowed down with one hand on her hip and the other ready to grab something. _She thinks she looks intimidating. Adrien greatly begs to disagree._

"!!" However, the close proximity caused Adrien to be fully awake. His eyes are wide open, staring back at bright emerald cat eyes. He willed to move his lips, aware that his past attempts on telling the truth won't deter the female. "It's.." 

"?" Lady Noire leaned closer and Adrien whispered.

"Misterbug already got it." Adrien wanted to say **he's the cheese** and maybe something romantic or sexual will happen between them, but he chickened out. He isn't Misterbug right now. He's Adrien and gosh she recently took a bath. 'She smells nice.'

" _Oh._ " Lady Noire blinked and Adrien stared at her lips. _It looks so soft and moist._ Lady Noire removed her leg and turned away, her long braid flicking at the wind. Adrien stood up, listening to her rambles. "So that's why Bug knew there's no more cheese... He took it... Guardian... ogre?"

"Is everything okay?" Adrien asked and Lady Noire looked behind her shoulder. His heart skipped a beat when she smiled at his direction.

"Nothing. Sorry if I disturbed you today." Lady Noire jumped up from the window she pried open. "Sweet dreams and don't let the bed bugs bite."

...

"If she keeps visiting you, you should start buying Camembert." Tikki commented and Adrien flinched at the kwami's presence. "Plagg might've infected her to be another cheese lover."

"..." Adrien blinked, looking back at the window. He sighed, hopeless. "I'll prep tomorrow."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cat!Mari is so trusting.
> 
> Bug!Adrien is so hopeless for his partner.


End file.
